Mini Review: Shh! by Stacey Nash

Title: Shh!
Series: Oxley College #1
Author: Stacey Nash
Format: ebook
Pub. Date: February 23rd 2015
Source: YA Bound Book Tours


Book Description via Goodreads:

Nineteen-year-old Olivia Dean has the perfect reputation, the perfect boyfriend, and an increasingly perfect CV. She has it all, until Christian breaks up with her in public, calling her out as a self-gratifying sexoholic: the kind that plays solo. But Olivia doesn’t do any such thing — the only thing she does at night is sleep … right?

Now all the boys on campus seem to want her attention for the absolutely wrong reason — including resident hottie, Logan Hays. He's pulling out his best moves to gain her attention, so resisting his sexy charm is hard work. With rapidly slipping grades, a disturbingly lurid reputation and demanding parents, Olivia must discover the truth behind her rumoured sleeping problem. If she doesn't, the perfect life she's worked so hard for may slip away, including the one person who has Olivia breaking all her rules — Logan.

What do you do when you’re asleep?

***

Shh! is a story about acceptance, learning to trust and in turn love while facing life's unexpected difficulties.

NB: This book is of a mild heat level, and contains no explicit sex scenes.

Review:

★★★

I will say, I have never read a book that discusses the topics found inside Shh!. That's why I was drawn into reading this book, because I had never heard of such a condition as the one Olivia experiences throughout the course of the book. However, this one wasn't really for me.

The reason why this book and I didn't really gel together is because of the main character, Olivia. I expected more from her. She goes through a lot of rough stuff in this book. There's a lot of really nasty rumors and bullying and I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. She does stand up for herself... Eventually. For a very large part of the book, she just seems to sit and wallow and feel sorry for herself, which is not a character that I can relate to. It went on too long, and it frustrated me. A large part of this frustration came from the fact that Olivia is quick to talk about how she wants to be a lawyer. That's why she's so concerned with her image and reputation, because she wants to be a lawyer. I was surprised that she was so passionate about something where you have to stand up for what you may or may not believe in (depending on the client) and yet she was still so quick to lay down. (Granted, her parents were the ones pushing her towards this career...)

That said, I loved the side characters. I found that her friends, Savvy and Megan, were really the stars of this novel. In a world where everyone is talking smack about Olivia, they are there to help her combat it and stop her from breaking down completely. I also really, really liked the love interest, Logan. He's pretty swoon worthy. There was a great supporting cast of characters, and I liked that they were fairly diverse from one another in regards to personality.

I also appreciate that while this book deals with a medical condition that is sexual in nature (I'm purposely being vague to avoid potential spoilers), there are no explicit or graphic scenes.

All in all, I was left a bit disappointed with this book because I couldn't connect, try as I may, to the main character. However, I'm not sorry I read this book, and I think a lot of people out there will like it. There's an interesting medical condition, clean New Adult romance, and an Aussie university setting that might work really well for you, but just fell short for me.

I was provided with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Blog Tour: Excerpt, Review & Giveaway- Inside Out by Lia Riley!

Title: Inside Out
Series: Off the Map #3
Author: Lia Riley
Release date: 12/02/14
Publisher: Grand Central/Forever

Book Description via Goodreads:

Lia Riley made New Adult readers fall in love with her breakout debut, Upside Down. Sideswiped, the second of her series, made readers clamor for more. Now, with INSIDE OUT, Lia Riley brings her evocative Off the Map series to a stunning conclusion.

When Talia first moved from California to Australia to study abroad, she never dreamed she'd find the love of her life. Bran understands her like no one ever has before. And despite the numerous challenges they've faced, they've always managed to figure out how to stay together. But this time they'll face their toughest hurdle yet. Is their love strong enough to keep them together?

Excerpt:

Talia's POV

Who was I when I first fell in love with Bran?

A person who had courage to stare down an unfeasible situation and say, Sure, I’m up for the challenge.

Who was I when Bran threw himself at me like a wounded animal, all claws, abandonment fear, spit, and fang?

A person who accepted that the moon has two sides, light and dark.

Who am I now?

I feel like a lost soul rocking in the corner, fresh out of ideas.

Bran pushes me through the long line until it’s our turn at the passport desk.

“How long do you plan to stay in the United States?” The customs official glances from Bran’s face to his passport photo and back again.

My stomach squirms like a writhing snake. We’ve avoided any discussion about future plans, focused instead on the short term. I had to accept the reality that I couldn’t return to the Peace Corps, even with the medical separation. I was too sick, too shattered. Our discussions about the logistics of leaving Africa were easier to concentrate on than the looming issue of what we were going to do with each other. I treated the topic like an abandoned lot, filled with weeds and rusting cars, a subject to walk past and pretend to ignore.
Now a stranger is forcing the issue.

“Until this one gets better.” Bran cocks his head in my direction.

The woman scoots forward, peers at me with a faint frown. “May I see proof of a return ticket, sir?”

Bran digs out the photocopy of his itinerary. When we bought the tickets, he had to borrow money from his dad. He hasn’t said much, but I know the fact must eat at him. Add another bitter drop to my guilt bucket—soon it’s going to overflow.

“You’re on a temporary tourist visa.” The customs agent flips the passport to a blank page and stamps with obvious relish. “You have three months, starting now.”

Here we go again.

Visa issues.

Ticking clocks.

People imagine international romance is excitement, hot accents, and adventure. They don’t want to hear about the bureaucratic drudgery that threatens to harden the arteries of even the most passionate hearts.

I thought I was going somewhere.

Nope.

I am an idiot Icarus who flew too close to the sun.

Bran leans forward, his lips hover an inch from my ear, his breath a hot caress on my cool skin. “You okay, Captain?”

“Fine.”

“What are you thinking, thinker?”

“I’m just sitting here, a sitter.”

We roll past an American flag overhanging a framed photo of the president. His smile seems smug, as if to say, You really thought you’d get away?

Yes, sir. I kind of did.

“We’re up next.” Bran hands a final customs form to yet another officer who waves us toward big silver doors that open and shut like gnashing teeth. On the other side is California. I can’t shake the disorienting sense we’re heading in the wrong direction.

“Ready?”

Nope.

Bran crossed an ocean for me. I have to find the way out of this black swamp, but I’m manacled to an island of self-doubt, and the tide is rising.

About the Author
After studying at the University of Montana-Missoula, Lia Riley scoured the world armed only with a backpack, overconfidence and a terrible sense of direction. When not torturing heroes (because c'mon, who doesn't love a good tortured hero?), Lia herds unruly chickens, camps, beach combs, daydreams about as-of-yet unwritten books, wades through a mile-high TBR pile and schemes yet another trip. She and her family live mostly in Northern California.
a href="https://www.facebook.com/authorliariley">Facebook | Website | Twitter | Goodreads | tumblr.

Buy it from Amazon | Kobo | B&N | iBooks | Google Play

Review:

★★★★★

Five stars.

-----

Alas, the best trilogy I have read this year comes to a close. I am so glad that I stuck it through beside Talia and Bran as they navigated their way off the map (ha, get it? 'Cause it's the name of the series. I'll go now.) into uncharted waters to figure themselves out and if they can make it in a world that seems to want nothing more than for them to be apart. This final book* is just the ending that this couple deserves. And yes, I am aware that they're fictional, but Riley writes with such conviction that I can't help but to feel like they are really in my life somehow.

*This is supposed to be the last book in a trilogy. However, I sincerely hope this is not the end of my mentally rooting Bran enjoyment of this couple's relationship.

As mentioned, this is book three of the Off the Map series. While Riley does a good job of sprinkling in each character's back story, I'd definitely read books one and two before giving this one a go. It'll help you get more attached to this story.

Like both its predecessors, Inside Out made me feel ALL of the things! It was happy and then it was really dark and then it got kinda scary but then it was happy and then CRYING. I'm pretty sure that I got weird looks on my train as I read this book and reacted to it but, there you go. It's well paced and dramatic without being melodramatic, which I think is an important difference. All of the characters are well written and distinct, and even if you don't like them they're developed, so you have a good reason to dislike them. I also continued to appreciate how Talia's OCD was explored and explained and tested in their relationship. My girlfriend has OCD and I have to say that as the "Bran" of our couple (I think that makes me the sexy one. I win.), it's startlingly accurate. You want to help and you're afraid to watch them tear themselves up but there's f*ck all you can do about it. It's awful, and that essence is well captured.

Bran continues to prove that he's amazing and sexy and so damn Aussie and I agree with Talia, he's a damn super hero and let's get him a cape. He may just be my new favorite fictional man. I never thought a certain "Mad Dog" would be replaced but, here we are.

My one complaint about this book (which obviously didn't bother me too much since it's still a perfect rating) is that the happy ending seemed a bit rushed. I have absolutely no problem with happy endings, but it seemed a bit off pace with the rest of the book.

Thanks so much to Lia Riley for putting up with my spam of tweets in her direction and for Grand Central/Forever & Netgalley for providing me with this trilogy in exchange for my honest opinions. You've made a true Lia Riley fan out of me and I will sit here and wait most impatiently for these books to be in print, which they tell me will happen in Summer 2015.

I recommend this book, and the trilogy as a whole, to anyone who loves sexy Australian man candy, New Adult romance, happy ever afters, and true love.

Giveaway:

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Blog Tour: Excerpt, Review & Giveaway- Sideswiped by Lia Riley

Title: Sideswiped
Series: Off the Map #2
Author: Lia Riley
Release date: 10/07/14
Publisher: Grand Central/Forever

Book Description via Goodreads:

It was only meant to last the summer...

Talia Stolfi has seen more than her share of loss in her twenty-one years. But then fate brought her Bran Lockhart, and her dark world was suddenly and spectacularly illuminated. So if being with Bran means leaving her colorless NorCal life for rugged and wild Australia, then that’s what she’ll do. But as much as Talia longs to give herself over completely to a new beginning, the fears of her past are still lurking in the shadows.

Bran Lockhart knows that living without the beautiful girl who stole his heart will be torment, so he’ll take whatever time with her he can. But even though she has packed up her life in California and is back in his arms for the time being, she can’t stay forever. And the remaining time they have together is ticking by way too fast. Though fate seems determined to tear them apart, they won’t give up without a fight—because while time may have limits, their love is infinite...

Excerpt:

Talia passes out hard from the travel and epic reunion sex. I’m too amped for sleep, so I lie in the dark and trace her spine. Can you love someone too much? No point being afraid, might as well jump in it with both feet. I press my mouth to her neck and she undulates, responsive even from her dreams. If miracles were real, I’d swear we were designed to fit together.

I loop my arm around her waist and hold fast, until our breathing syncs. I’m drifting off when she jerks—hard—once, twice. Her body recoils as she unleashes a lung-tearing scream.

“Talia, wake up. Come on, sweetheart, talk to me.” I clamber over her, hunching protectively. “Open your eyes. It’s Bran. I’ve got you. I’m not letting go.” I keep talking while she flays my chest like she’s drowning under ice, desperate to find a break in the surface.

“Can’t breathe. I can’t breathe. I…where am…oh God. Bran.”

“I’m right here.” I cradle her while she draws another unsteady gasp. Her hair plasters her forehead in sweaty wisps.

“Give me a minute. I’ll be fine.” She pushes herself to a half-sit and sways with disorientation. “This…this happens sometimes…panic attacks or night terrors…whatever. They seem to come when I drop my guard. Or, I don’t know, maybe it’s the meds. Those pills make me feel like a toxic waste dump.”

“Have you been bad this summer?” The muscles in my neck cord. It shreds my guts to see her hurting. I’d do anything, any fucking thing, to carry her pain. I don’t fully understand the inner workings of OCD but she’s explained that for her, the condition comes in waves. Everything will be rolling along fine, more or less, and then bang—a giant squid grips her brain. She fights hard for recovery, a warrior even when she believes she’s nothing but a coward.

“No, not really.” She grinds her eyes with the backs of her hands. “I kinda danced around the edge of the rabbit hole a few times but never fell inside.”

My muscles release some tension. “Try to go back to sleep. You need the rest. Don’t worry, I’ll keep watch, okay?”

“I’m sorry to be such a psych job. It’s totally shaming.”

“Shhhhhh.”

Her chin tips down. “Can you talk to me for a little while? Get me out of my fuckball head?”

“Hey now, I got mad love for that head, Captain.” I kiss her brow, acting chill even though I’m scared. How can I get her to settle? Then it hits me. “I want to take you surfing again.”

“Mmmm, that’d be nice.”

“Picture yourself out there, in the water, on a board, under the shooting stars.”

“With sharks eyeballing me from the depths?”

“Nah, they’re all busy hunting sea lions or some bloody mischief. This is you, the sea, and the sky. A set rolls in. You can’t make out the wave. The board lifts and you feel the momentum building. There’s fear deep in your belly, sensible, because you can’t see what’s coming or where you’re going. You fight the self-protective instincts, give yourself over, and the next thing you know—you’re having the ride of your life.”

“Thank you.” She flips in my arms so we’re belly to belly. “I mean it. That was beautiful, really, really beautiful. I’m so excited to be here, for right now—to live in the moment. But it’s like I have this…this weird mental stutter. My thoughts keep skipping over the same annoying question like a scratch on vinyl: What will we do?” Tears spill from the corners of her eyes, course silently toward her chin. “My visa.”

Talia’s been granted a three-month student visa to complete her senior thesis in history. In all its benevolent generosity, the Australian government expanded her time in the country by an extra month.

Four months—the sum of our allotted time.

“They’ll make me leave.”

“Don’t believe everything you think.” I wipe her damp cheeks.

“Can you tattoo that on my forehead?”

Maybe it’s my imagination, but the brass alarm clock on the dresser clicks louder.

Another second gone.

Another second gone.

“I’m not losing you to some shithouse immigration policy, Captain. We will be all right in the end.” I’ve no idea how the hell I’m going to solve this drama but I will figure it out. “We have to hope, otherwise we’re sunk.”

She jerks with surprised laughter.

“What?”

She hiccups and covers her mouth with her hand, shoulders shaking. It takes me a second to realize she’s giggling.

“I’m funny to you right now?” This girl drives me every sort of crazy.

“I’m not laughing at you.” She works her lips together and unsuccessfully smothers the smile. “It’s—”

“Forget it.” I instinctively stiffen.

“Bran the Optimist.” She grabs my wrists, lifts my palms to her face, and plants a kiss in the center of each one. “I like this side of you.”

“Never mind. I was being dumb.”

“You were awesome.” She pecks the tip of my nose. “And for the record, I love your stupid face.”

I give her a begrudging kiss back. “I love yours too.”

Love isn’t enough of a word.
I wasted almost an entire year of my life implementing a scorched earth policy, not caring who I left burned and broken in my path.

Talia was my oasis. My salvation.

“Don’t give the visa a second thought.” I nestle her against me, rubbing her lower back in easy circles. “I’ll sort this out, I swear to you.”

Even if I don’t have the first fucking clue.

About the Author:
Lia Riley writes offbeat New Adult Romance. After studying at the University of Montana-Missoula, she scoured the world armed only with a backpack, overconfidence and a terrible sense of direction. She counts shooting vodka with a Ukranian mechanic in Antarctica, sipping yerba mate with gauchos in Chile and swilling fourex with stationhands in Outback Australia among her accomplishments. A British literature fanatic at heart, Lia considers Mr. Darcy and Edward Rochester as her fictional boyfriends. Her very patient husband doesn't mind. Much. When not torturing heroes (because c'mon, who doesn't love a good tortured hero?), Lia herds unruly chickens, camps, beach combs, daydreams about as-of-yet unwritten books, wades through a mile-high TBR pile and schemes yet another trip. She and her family live mostly in Northern California.
Facebook | Website | Twitter | Goodreads | tumblr.

Buy it from Amazon | Kobo | B&N | BAM! | iBooks | Google Play

Review:

★★★★★

Five stars.

-----

Lia Riley gave me permission to make my review this simple and self explanatory: soughgosdjglndg GO READ IT NOW.

However, for the sake of professionalism and, you know, a review that's actually useful, I will try to collect my myriad of feelings long enough to formulate a review consisting of complete sentences and thoughts. Bear with me.

Sideswiped picks up where Upside Down leaves off, continuing the complicated love story that is Bran and Talia. Proving that love can overcome obstacles, this story takes us back to Australia, where Talia has a temporary visa so that she can continue her school work. Like the first book, this book is duel POV and it completely works. Both voices are distinct and truly capture the character. I was never left wondering who was talking, Riley made it very clear with her writing. This book is a sequel, but there's a quick recap of book one so that if you haven't read the first part, you'll at least have a sense of what's going on. (But, you should totally read Upside Down anyway. Check out my review here. It's amazing too.)

I love them. I love getting into Talia's head and seeing the gears turn about her OCD and what she wants out of life. Conversely, I adore Bran. I'm smitten. I love the way he thinks/talks about his love for Talia and the fact that he wants to make a difference in the world. The fact that he's gorgeous and Australian is just a nice little perk. I love that they're both flawed- Talia with her OCD, Bran with his romantic past to name a few reasons- but they don't dwell on it. When they start to feel sorry for themselves, the other one boots them in the ass. They're best when they're together, and I think that's absolutely darling.

Much like Upside Down, this book runs you through a gauntlet of feelings. I felt happy when they were together and in a romantic state of bliss. I laughed at their stupid jokes. I wanted to punch Bran when he made some very, very poor choices. I felt my heart sink when Talia had to make difficult choices of her own. But above everything, I was motivated to keep reading because I was cheering Bran and Talia (Bralia?) on, and I needed to know they would be okay. I read this in one sitting, and my girlfriend received random, rambling texts about "Bran" and "Australia" and "Vajazzling".

I was distraught when I was out of pages. I wouldn't go quite so far as to call it a cliff hanger.... But if you want complete closure and affirmation that life's going to be okay, you may be left a skosh disappointed. Apparently, I'm a bookish masochist because I am okay with this ending, and I will sit here impatiently waiting for the next book in the series.

I recommend this to any lovers of New Adult contemporary romance, any suckers for Australian accents, or anyone who likes a bit of humor in their romance. Thanks so much to Netgalley & Forever for my copy in exchange for my honest review.

Giveaway:

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Review: When the World Was Flat

Title: When the World Was Flat (and we were in love)
Author: Ingrid Jonach
Format: egalley
Pub. Date: September 3rd 2013
Source: Netgalley/Strange Chemistry

★★★

Three stars.

Lillie's life is relatively normal. She's a small town girl, with friends she's known forever, in a school where everyone knows everyone else's business. But her world comes crashing down when a new boy moves to town. He seems eerily familiar. Between this strange newcomer, horrible nightmares that she can't quite understand, and the return of a schoolmate who moved away years ago, the landscape quickly seems to be changing. Slowly she learns the truth behind her dreams and why Tom is so familiar... But is it too late for her in this world?

----

Ugh. Every once in a while a book comes along that I just don't know how to rate. There are aspects of this book that I adored, and others that made me almost give up on the book entirely. I guess the good and bad even out to a three for me.

Let's get my negative rants out of the way first:

I hate the protagonist. Lillie is a girl that I would never knowingly be friends with. It's no wonder she's invisible and average at her high school- she's judgemental and unpleasant. She's constantly remarking to herself over how big of a slut her "best friend" Sylv is, because she wears short skirts and makeup. And then there's the other "friend" Jo, whom she refers to as being masculine and that some makeup wouldn't kill her. But it's not just these characters. The goth/emo girl in her art class is automatically called a potential serial killer. She turns up her nose at the nerds who are into manga and D&D like she's so much better, when she makes a point of ho humming about what an average person she is. She's hypocritical about her feelings for her mother, an eccentric hippie/bohemian type, as well. One minute she's thinking about how big of an embarrassment her mom is, with her tie dye shirts, odd herbal remedies, and praying to a variety of gods. And yet, when she has nightmares she turns to her mom and her dream dictionaries, uses the oils in her bath, and drinks the teas to calm herself. Lillie's whole outlook on everything is negative, until she meets Tom, and thereafter her existence is defined by having a boy in her life. She also somehow manages to get drunk on one sip of alcohol. I know she's in high school, but, bull.

This book was a very strange mix of stories that I've heard before and originality all jumbled into one. It's an odd mixture of Doctor Who, Twilight, Slide, and The City of Masks, with some original influence. By definition I shouldn't have enjoyed this book...

But for some reason, I did. As much as I don't like Lillie, I wanted to know how the story ended, and why she was having the dreams, as well as what her connection to the new boy Tom was. I also rather liked the side plots that were happening to her friends. Somehow, Sylv, Jo, Tom, Jackson, and even her mom helped me to press through this story until the end.

There's a dark tone (other than Lillie's outlook) that haunts the writing of this book, that gives the whole thing the sense that something really bad is going to happen. The details were well written, though in my opinion too much time was spent on clothes and the like.

I could go on a tangent about the science aspect of it, but, it's a work of fiction inspired by a theory. I understand that liberties are to be taken.

I wish I could explain why I liked this book, despite the fact that I find more flaw in it than good. I just liked it.

If you're a die hard sci fi fan, I wouldn't read this. But if you're into YA insta-love fantasy, maybe this book is for you. There's slut shaming and judging that goes beyond typical high school drama, but for me the intrigue of the plot was enough for me to keep with it.

Thanks to Netgalley and Strange Chemistry for my copy.